


USS Artemis: Past/Present/Future

by jasmineteacakes



Category: Star Trek
Genre: Drabble Collection, Gen, Lots of Original Characters - Freeform, USS Artemis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-18
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:20:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22787842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jasmineteacakes/pseuds/jasmineteacakes
Summary: Drabbles centred around my 26 person crew of the USS Artemis; a Federation Science Vessel. In brackets are the characters in the story ie; (Spock/Nausikaa)
Kudos: 1





	1. Religious? (T'se/Reyna)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which T'se realises that the lieutenant she's stuck with is quite beautiful.

“I did not know that you were religious, Lieutenant.”

Reyna looks up from her communicator and she makes eye contact with T’se, who stares intently at the cross resting between her collarbones. 

“Not really,” she lets out a breathy laugh and shakes her head slightly. “My mother always insisted that we go to church on a Sunday. I spent most of my teen years trying to avoid it.” Her hand passes softly over the cold metal and her expression turns to melancholy. T’se’s eyebrow raises a fraction.

“My mother, she passed when I was 17. I started going back after that.” Reyna taps her foot and she returns her focus to the communicator, attempting to make contact with the ship. There is an empty silence between them and wind begins to rush through the woods they stand in.

“I grieve with thee.” T’se whispers in Vulcan. Reyna nods her head once and zips up her crash jacket, covering her cross. 

“Lieutenant Commander, do you believe there is someone looking out for us?” T’se considers the question for several moments, and her eyes flick to Reyna. Her face is frowned as she fiddles with the communicator but the forest light that bathes her makes her seem softer and gentler than usual. 

“Indeed, Lieutenant Sanchez.” Reyna looks up at her again and, this time, T’se feels something in her shift, as Sanchez’s dark eyes reflect a range of emotions combined with the glow of a setting sun. She gives a soft smile, different from the wide grin that T’se has become accustomed to. They stay like this for a moment or two. Finally the communicator lets out a small beep. 

“Ah-ha! I’m a genius!” Reyna shouts as she leaps up from the log she had been sitting on. “We’re out of here, Lieutenant Commander!” She grins wide, and her previous state of melancholy gives way to joy.


	2. What Nausikaa Means (Spock/Nausikaa)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Spock learns something new.

“Do you know what Nausikaa means, Mr Spock?” 

He looks at her with a raised eyebrow. They both stand on the top of the hill, staring into the vast fog-covered bay of San Francisco that glows in the predawn light. Spock had come here to meditate when Commander Jacobi had come past, out on a jog, listless. Her leg is still held together with a pneumatic brace and her lungs rattle with each breath. She is, as humans say, looking worse for wear. Dark circles rest under her eyes and the court case seems to weigh down on her. 

“No, Commander, I’m not aware of the origin of the name Nausikaa.” She lets out a shaky breath and gives a soft smile.

“From Homer’s Odyssey. You are not familiar?” It is her turn to raise an eyebrow, high on her mildly flushed face. Spock shakes his head. Jacobi seems to ponder this for a few moments.

“It means ‘burner of ships’”. Spock sees the irony in the name immediately. Commander Jacobi, floating lifeless in space as her ship burns. The trial that accuses her of being the one who caused the loss of a starship. 

“Maybe they are right.”

Spock watches as she sits down on a nearby bench; her damaged leg outstretched. Wrinkles are etched into her skin, around her eyes, her mouth. She seems tired and her voice is heavy. For a moment, he sees his mother in Jacobi, and then she is gone. The trees rustle in the wind and leaves flutter to the ground. 

“They won’t even give me shiva. They said it’s been too long.” She whispers it so quietly that it would have been lost to the wind if Spock were not part-Vulcan. Nausikaa Jacobi was in a medically-induced coma for 73 days, in which her husband and 394 others were buried, mourned, and added to the list of those lost in the Federation-Klingon war. The time for aninut, shiva and shloshim has passed. Another long pause rests between them. The sun has begun to burn away the fog.

Burn.

Spock decides he does not like that word.

Jacobi stands up and tightens her ponytail. “I must go, it is the second day of trial.” She begins to walk back down the path, into the thinning mist. 

“Mr Spock.” She pauses, not turning around. “If you want, you should come.” And then Nausikaa Jacobi disappears into the orange dawn, leaving Spock with his mind more spread out than it was before he meditated.


	3. Troublesome Trio (Aoibheann/Tai Li/Kenneth)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the trouble trio says gay rights

The two men watch as Aoibheann is thrown out of the club, her red hair almost glowing in the street lights. 

“Ah, git fecked!” She stumbles backwards off the curb and Ken catches her. She glares at him, pulling away roughly. “Oi, git aff me.” Tai gets a good look at her as she pulls away; her lower lip is cut open and her nose is at an unnatural angle. She also reeks of alcohol.

“Are you okay?” Tai asks, a small hint of amusement in his voice at his boyfriend’s reaction. Aoibheann looks at him over her shoulder and sneers, teeth bared like a threatened dog. 

“I’ll be grand whaen oi git ter club the shoite oyt…” She pauses for a moment and squints at Ken. “Aint ye in me pre-med class? Yer da scottish fella.” Tai and Ken glance at each other and Ken shrugs, it’s a big class. 

“Oi, Aoibheann, you better piss off!” The bouncer yells and all three bolt across the road. 

“Well, uh, Evan, was it? How about we get some food and you can tell us about your, uh, predicament.” Tai tries. Aoibheann snorts, mutters something about ‘pre-dick-ament’, and gestures for him to lead the way.

\---

A couple of stacks of chips later and Aoibheann seems to have sobered, slightly.

“Naw, naw, ‘tis A-O-I-B-H-E-A-N-N. Aoibheann” She spells out for the seventh time. Neither Ken nor Tai are truly sober enough to grasp a hold of Gaeilge and Aoibheann isn’t doing a terribly good job of explaining it. 

“Okay but ye said Evan! Hae ah lost mah min’?” Ken’s accent only gets more pronounced with each drink, and Tai would find it cute if it didn’t mean sharing a bed with increasingly loud yelling in Scots. Aoibheann lets out another snort and shakes her head into her cup of water. Tai takes the opportunity to change the subject, lest he be subject to more linguistic errors. 

“So, Aoibheann, who’d you pick a fight with?” 

“Someone who doesn’t understan’ ‘I’m not interested cos oi loike women’ ‘til it ‘its dem in de bake, literally.” She gestures around her face and Tai figures she punched the guy in the face. “Unfortunately, they generally puk back. It’s a belt wi’ de ladies though.” She winks and brushes strands of bright ginger from her face. 

“Sae, yoo’re loch th’ local beanflicker Batman.” Ken offers from his plate of chips. Tai rolls his eyes and opens his mouth to apologise when Aoibheann interrupts him with a roar of laughter.

“Oi that’s a gran’ wan! Oi shud put dat on me profile! Beanflicker Batman!” Ken and Aoibheann laugh wildly, out of breath in seconds. Tai smiles into his glass.

\---

The trio stumble back to Tai and Ken’s apartment, the two pre-med students yelling and whooping at the top of their lungs. As Tai fumbles with the keys, Aoibheann mumbles a classic song that Ken seems familiar with. 

“Ah, nice place yer got. Pure…’omely.” Aoibheann unzips her boot, which look regulation, and pulls them off. She makes herself at home on the couch, taking in the whole one room apartment. 

Ken flops face-down onto the bed at the end of the room, his blonde hair spreading out like an upturned mop. Tai sits next to him, head buzzing, his eyes barely focusing on the flaming red-head on his couch.

“You’ve only got wan bed?” Her face stills and she looks deep in thought. Slowly but surely realisation appears. “Ahh…”

Tai braces for what comes next. 

“As long as yer don't try anythin' wi' me, 'tis al' gran'” 

“You’re not a man.”

“Hm. So I’m not.” Aoibheann says and promptly passes out. 

“Ah loch ‘er.” Ken offers from the bed. Tai places a gentle kiss on the crown of his head and lies down.

“Of course you do.”


	4. Commander Fortuna (Nausikaa)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Nausikaa is promoted

Nausikaa watches as her commanding officer drops to the floor, his chest coated in blood. Marcus pulls against his captor and he is shoved into the ground. One of the aliens points a phaser directly at the Captain, monologuing. Nausikaa breathes heavily, focusing on the surroundings.

There are four aliens in the room, only one has a phaser. The one behind her has the control for their bindings. She looks at Marcus and he gives a wink. A silent plan is set into motion.

She shifts her weight from right to left, slow and deliberate. A second passes like 100 years. Each move is methodical. Nausikaa runs forward and lands a solid kick onto the monologuing alien, sending him reeling. Marcus flips over and kicks his alien in the knees. Nausikaa scrambles for the phaser as the Captain stops the other aliens from getting to her. She grabs it and fires three shots. She levels it with the remaining alien.

“You are going to take off these bindings.” She backs him into a corner, her eyes wild. The alien fumbles for a moment as he pulls out the control device. There is the familiar clink of cuffs hitting the floor and the Captain takes back his communicator.

“Captain Shah to Inspire. Four to beam.”

“Yes Captain. Energising.”

The familiar hum of the transporter pulls Nausikaa out of her hyperfocus, and her eyes squint as she reappears on board, the lights bright. She teeters, adrenaline rushing through her system, and Marcus grabs her arm. They watch as a medical crew attempt to resuscitate Commander Burns, pulling him onto a stretcher and whisking him away. Nausikaa just stares at the patch of blood left on the transporter floor. Marcus rubs circles into her arm with his thumb, gentle and caring. They know that Burns was dead the moment the phaser was fired.

“Nausikaa Jacobi.” She snaps her head up to meet Captain Shah’s eye. His face is bruised and his uniform is dirty. Rarely has the Captain looked worse. His face holds a multitude of emotions.

“Congratulations on your promotion, Commander.” It’s a sombre announcement. “You saved three lives out there today. I’m glad to have you on my ship.” They share a nod and the Captain leaves silently. Marcus puts a hand on Nausikaa’s back and they walk out of the room, keep walking until they reach their quarters.

She sits down on their bed and breathes shallowly. Marcus helps her out of her shoes and then to the shower. They undress, slip inside the shower, and run the water hot. He runs his fingers through her hair, detangling it, combing shampoo through the blonde strands. They get out. Change into pyjamas. Climb into bed.

“Lights, 15%.” Marcus whispers as he strokes Nausikaa’s hair. She sobs quietly into his chest. Eventually she sleeps and so does he and, for a moment, all is right.

When she wakes in the morning, Nausikaa changes her Commander name to Fortuna, stopping confusion with Marcus. She joins Alpha shift for the first time as Chief Science officer. Over time she learns to forgive herself. Six months later, when Marcus is promoted to Captain and given command of the USS Sunspot, she doesn’t think twice about leaving the Inspire. Marcus is her home, and has been for 20 years. She’d follow him to the ends of the galaxy, just as he had for her.

In the future, she stops forgiving herself. The weight of her sins is too much. The galaxy is too large for her to follow Marcus.

_In the future, she succumbs to fate._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This started very solid and ended very metaphorical. In an attempt not to spoil.


End file.
